Charli Carpenter

Despite diplomatic rhetoric, the goal of punishing violations of a near-universally held norm is not the same thing as the goal of protecting civilians. If that were really the purpose, the West would have intervened in Syria long ago. Its strategy now, moreover, would do more to take civilians into account.

More and more, unmanned machines such as drones are waging war. So far, governments kept humans as the operators. But now militaries worldwide are developing armed autonomous robots with the capacity to use lethal force on their own.

Commentators are falling over themselves to explain the “gender divide” among Obama’s staff. But these discussions reveal far more about gender misconceptions among foreign policy journalists than about the preferences or influence of Obama’s female foreign policy staff.

Two recent books cast doubt on the value of the existing laws of war when it come sto safeguarding civilians in an age of unconventional conflict. But a closer look suggests that the current regulations constitute a firm foundation on which to better protect civilians.

Carpenter details how humanitarian advocacy groups set priorities that lead to strategic choices and practical agendas that overlook -- indeed, at times, consciously ignore the half million children today whose mothers were raped or exploited during war.